Is the death penalty just? Politicians, lobbyists, philosophers, and experts from all walks of life continuously debate this controversial subject. Has any one of these individuals listened to the rest of us? The answer in many cases is no.

The United States is a democracy of embodied officials, who represent the people, their wishes, beliefs and ideals. That means, through elections, we decide what policies are to be enacted. In the case of capital punishment, various polls report that seventy percent of Americans are in favor of the death sentence. That is a clear majority. So called experts are free to petition grievances and speak freely according to our constitution. But the fact of the matter is seven out of ten Americans have evaluated the dilemma of capital punishment according to their own values and beliefs. Their conclusion was favorable to the death penalty. At this juncture of time, the question of it being just was answered by the majority - and the majority rules.

English: Total number of executions carried out in...

US gas chamber usage

Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of ...

Many experts who speak against the death penalty cite it as barbaric. The definition of murder, according to Webster, is 'the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.' Therefore an uneducated person would classify murder as equally barbaric. The mitigating factor of the death penalty is, or should be, an already established punishment for this crime. The killer willingly committed the heinous act of taking a life, knowing they would be subject to this penalty. Therefore, he decided to gamble on not being caught, or thought that he was above the law. In either case he willingly forfeited his life with the taking of another. The killer may not agree with 'Lex Taliones', but the consequence of his action were obvious.

More Death Penalty essays:

... capital punishment groups gather outside of the prison with signs and cheers. In most states the law allows the family of the victims of the convicted to witness the executions. These executions seem so barbaric in a society where human life is supposedly valued so highly and ...

... of the death penalty believe that the death penalty helps keep the crime and murder rate down, but that is not so. States with death penalty laws do not have lower crime or rates than states that with death penalty laws. Also, by incarcerating criminals for life, instead of ...

... the United States need capital punishment? The main purpose of the death penalty is to protect the rights of victims ! John McAdams, a professor of Political Science at Marquette University sums it up best: "If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of ...

... the death penalty delivers justice quickly and effectively. Capital punishment is more humane than life imprisonment. For example, a murderer sentenced to life must endure his entire existence imprisoned, which is a type of torture. On the other hand, a murderer sentenced to death ...

... stating that the death penalty is a very strong deterrent against crime holds allot of water. It is a proven statistical fact that states that have reinstated and now enforce the death penalty show no difference in their crime and murder rate. In some cases, states that do impose the death penalty ...

2 pages111Nov/19963.3

Students & Profs. say about us:

"Good news: you can turn to other's writing help. WriteWork has over 100,000 sample papers"